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OBJECTS OF THE WAR. 



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Speech of Hon. Thomas D. Eliot 



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^ / OF MASSACHUSETTS, 

In the. House of Representatives, December 12, 1861, 



Oil the resolution declaring the object of the war to be the suppression of rebellion and the re-establish- 
tneirt of the rightful authority of the Constitutitm and laws over the entire country, and declaring the 
right and duty of the military commanders to emancipate slaves of rebel owners. 

Mr. ELIOT. I commence the debate upon the great questions involved in this 
resolution, and the bills and resolutions which have been presented upon similar 
subjects by other gentlemen, with profound di;^trusl of my ability to discuss ihetn 
'!v roughly; but with a full, abiding, clear, and confident conviction that the good, 
.liumon, sound sense of the members of this House, their free instincts, their patri- 
otic purposes, will enable them to mature a plan that shall at once embody the feel- 
ings, the wishes, the hopes, and the demands of our constituents, and of all loyal 
nun, and which will meet the great necessities of this occasion. 

Mr. Speaker, I desire to address myself to you in all frankness and sincerity. It 
i% tio time lor set speech. The times themselves are not set. Speech is demanded ; 
lit such as shall crystallize into acts and deeds. Thoughts of men go beyond the 
form of words into the realities of things. When we came together the other day 
I was impressed with the conviction that no time should be needlessly lost — no, not 
fill hour — before the opportunity should be presented to this House to express itself 
in some way, and to some extent to give utterance to its judgment, which should 
ai.so be regarded in a measure as the judgment of the people'; for we had just come 
from the people, and if at any time we would assume to represent their feelings, 
I'piaions, and judgment, it would be then. 

The vote which was taken upon the motion of the gentleman from Indiana, satis- 
fied me and satisfied the country as to tlie general judgment of the House. I would 
not be understood to say, and I would not assume to say that upon a final vote upon 
those resolutions the record would be as it was upon the motion to lay them upon 
the table. Indeed I know that would not be the case. Some gentlemen favorable 
unquestionably to their general scope voted against them, because it seemed to them 
that the first resolution called for a return to the old state of things. This resolution 
contemplates no such thmg. No matter how, a few months ago, loyal men might 
have yearned that the old state of things should be restored, the status ante helium 
is impossible. The first blow which was struck at Fort Sumter rendered it impos- 
sible. Stimulated by mad ambition, that blow shattered the hopes of loyal men 
throughout the land. No, sir; no, sir. Reconstruction must come ; but in the re- 
bellious and seceding States, when it cotnes, it shall come, I believe, without the 
presence of the slave ! Mr. Speaker, there are gentlemen whose names are recorded 
in favor of laying those resolutions upon the table, who would, as they now stand, 
sustain them. There are some among my friends who voted to lay them upon the 
table as they were first presented, who will not, as I hope, vote against them now. 
They were controlled in their votes because, as the resolutions were first presented, 
they extended over the slaves of all owners within military districts in insurrectioa 
against the United States. 

Now, Mr. Speaker, 1 have one word to say upon the amendment to the resolution. 
I believe, standing upon law, that the resolution, as it was first offered, is right; that 
it is sustained by the highest authorities upon subjects analagous to this. Why, sir, 
it is a war question — it is a military question ; it is not a question of punishment lor 
holding slaves because the holding t)f slaves is wrong; uot at all. Slavery caused 



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this rebellion, did it not? Then is slavery outlaw ; and it may well be that the war 
power may extingui.'-h it in district:s in in^urrection against the Government ; and, 
althciugh it raay be that there are loyal men who thus incidentally would sutler, as 
loyal men they would consent — the necessity existing — that the power should be 
exercised. But, nevertheless, loyal men should be protected from injury. The reso- 
lutions, as at first offered, contemplated no compensation ; there was no provisioQ 
for compensation contained in them; yet loyal men must not be treated as rebels, 
and in all our legislation it should be understood that we desire that the men who 
stand upright, when those around them are faltering and falling, shall be held 
harmless from loss, and no word should now be uttered that would seem to intimate 
that they and we are set at variance. Therefore, Mr. Speaker, I consented that the 
resolution should be amended ; and I did so the more readily because a vote had beea 
taken upon it as first reported, which indicated the judgment of the HoBse. The 
resolution, as now before us, will be a step in the right direction ; and, when a vote 
shall be taken upon it, I desire that we may stand together, it was a goud vote upon 
the resolution as first offered; I want that it shall be stronger; I want our loyal 
friends all around the House to come up with me, and ask the military power to 
take this step affecting now the slave property of rebels. The resolutions, as they 
stand now, 1 commend to the House as being, as far as they gu, sound, correct in 
princijde, and called for by the imperative necessities of the limes. 

Mr. Speaker, before we shall enter upon the discussion of the wider subjects that 
will open before us as we advance, it is my humble task to ask the consideration of 
the House to the resolutions as they stand before us. The first declares that the war 
in which we are now engaged has for i's object the suppression of the rebellion, and 
the re-establishment of the rightful authority of the United States; not by any 
manner of means that when that object has been attained, we shall thereupon return 
to the old state of things, for I believe that to be impossible; but that the object ot 
ihc war is to suppress the rebellion, and to recover and re-establish the rightful au- 
thority of the United States. 

Now, Mr. Speaker, so far as the United States is concerned as a Government, as 
a party carrying on war against the rebels, there can, it seems to me, be no two 
opinions upon this question. No matter what may incidentally result ; no matter 
what shall be brought about in connection with that object ; no matter what 
property may be affected ; nevertheless it is still between the Government and the 
rebels a question of power ; it is a questiou whether or not the one or the other shall 
be the stronger ! 

This, sir, has been called all over the country an anti-slavery war by certain men 
who love slavery more than ihev do the Union. It is no such thing. Slaverj' caused 
the war, and it may be overturned by it ; the power of the slaveholders is carrying 
it on, and that power will be crushed; the curse of slavery is at the foundation of 
it, and that curse may be removed ; but the object of the war is to recover the right- 
ful authority of the United Stales and put down treason. Why, sir, consider the 
state of things existing at this moment in South Carolina. Between Hilton Head 
and Beaufort is a country, as I understand it, of some fifteen or sixteen miles. All 
over that land the houses are desolate, the occupants have gone, the owners have 
fled, no man is there to say, " this is my property ;" the military foot of the United 
States has stepped upon it ; it is in the hands of the military authorities of the Gov- 
ernment. No white man is there, nor is there any one there except those of whom 
it has been said that they have " no rights which a white man is bound to respect." 
What are we to do with that country ? It is a part of the soil of the United States, 
and cannot be separated from it. It is a part of our territory, and it must be 
brought back. Those who held it have fled. It is in your hands. You cannot 
enforce your laws, for there are no judicial tribunals with power to do it. No laws 
can be enforced except by the power of the military arm. " Laws are silent amidst 
arms." But it is the mission of arms to recreate a state of things when laws raay 
be vindicated by judicial process. Civil society must be recreated. The work has 
been begun. A post-office has been established, and soon the school and the court- 
bouse and the church shall follow. The same principle applies, and the same gov- 
ernmental action must be taken whether the tract is fourteen miles square or whether 
it covers the whole State of South Carolina ; and as our Army shall successfully 
advance, and the rebellion be overcome, civil society will be again constructed ; con- 
ventions will be held ; Legislatures will come together ; the people will demand re- 
union ; and then in South Carolina shall be the reconstruction without the presence 



of a slave; then, Mr. Speaker, over the magnificent regions of the Palmetto State 

the star-spangled banner 

*^ " " Shall wave 

O'er the laud of the free and the home of the brave." 

It mav be, as has been intimated, and intimated in high quarters, that in the march 
of e.entJihc " rattlesnake " will be suppressed. What of it ? Suppose U should be 
that, in the order of God', providence, the territory now composing that i^ f te s lall 
be divided and belong to the surrounding States; the object ot the war will st.II be 
occomplished. the peace of the country will be restored, treason will be put down, 
rebellion willbe overcome, and the rightful authority of the laws and the Cons itu- 
tion will be maintained. In the meantime, certain questions have arisen aboui which 
some action must be had, and about which the military power must be exercised. 
Not only have houses been deserted, not only have the places of business been aban 
tloned, not only have the white men fled, leaving our troops in possession, but they 
have left their lands at the time of the ingathering of the crops ; they have left iheir 
cotton-lields white unto the harvest; the harvest is plenty, and the laborers are not few. 
There they stand with arms stretched out to us, yearning to help us, abandoned 
men, contrabands heretofore, deodands now, asking to be employed in V^^l^l\P^[- 
suits anxious for service and ready to receive the hire which labor may always 
ri-htfuUv demand. What are you to do with them? I say, let your military 
commander organize his bureau of agriculture; let the black hands gather in he 
white staple; the shackles have fallen from their limbs; and as they work for he 
Government, and in their employ, it does not need that 1 should say to you that 
henceforth and forever more they become free men. The resolutions under discus- 
sion do not consider at all what the condition of these men shall be or where shall 
be their future homes. Unto the day sufficient is the work thereof. Let us do the 
work that the Lord puts before us with all our minds and all our strength, and when 
Tat shall be accomplished the way will open itself for what He has ,n store for us 
afterwards to do. It is said, however, that we ought to do something and say some- 
thing and determine something about their status, and it may perhaps, be r'ght and 
\me: and, sir, for all that, I desire to say that I like right weU the o,nnions which 
have been expressed in a paper which has not been exactly officially reported to us 
but which contains good law, good patriotism, good statesmanship, and right strong 
common sense. I read from that paper : 

" It has become a grave question for determina>ion what shall be done wi.h "['^.^''^.y^^ «''«4"';{;f l''^,,;!',^;' 
owners on tTe adva.fce of Ir troops into sonthern terr,^^)^ as m . he i^'^^^'^^^^ ^hi Mwo'thoul 

o war, and pro.oke the d'^^'"'Ction m.nted by he wo s, o^ crn^e^^ ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^ ^,. 

^r:^:^!^^'i^'^ it^r'n'^xf e^:fi:,°.V"to T^^L:^rA,.Uio.s and raitorous enemy, by 
sparing or protecting the progeny f 'hose who are wagM^^^^^^^^ properly, consisting of the 

southern gun owder and feel soutl.ern sleel.' No one d< d,ts ihe r. po luo,^^ ..orlhrr,, f rn.s. north rn 

powers of war should be exercised to bring U to a sP«?^y •;i";.- , . . . nr,,nertv nrivilece, or security, derived 
^ -rhose wno wara.ainst the Go-^^'^^!'' J"^;^ J"^ ^^ .f 'rme^rel e*^^^ o^^^^ service of 

l^:Z ^::^^:.uaX ':^:i;:^::''^t'::U'^^'i^ ^'-M shar .. co.n„.on fate of w„r. 
to which th y have devoted .be P^P^'y "*, '">'^' '^'li^.f ''u*':, ;„=„,. .ui,i..oted to all the consequences of this 
rebI!;^::^a:,'^nd\i:^\K::=t;l^:;;d'^;^;l!;^it.';^^ L not entplo,i..« an .,. n,.. .nd 



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powers of war to bring it to a speedy close, therietails of ihe plan of doing so like all other military mea- 
sures, must, in a great degree be left lo be determined by particuhir exijrmcies. The disposition oi oth-T 
property bflonging to the rebels ihat liecome subject to our arii.s is governed by the cirrum'^laiices of the 
case. The C'lvernment has no i ower to hold slaves, none to restrain a slave ol his liberty, or to exact his 
service ]t has a right, however, to use the voluntary service of slaves liberated. Iiy war fr,,m their rebel 
masters, like ajiy other rop' rty ol ih rt be Is. in whatever mode may be most efficient for ihe defence ol th 
Goverumen . the prosecution of he war, and the suppression ot leliellion It is clearly a right of thn Gov- 
ernment to ; rni slaves when it may become iiecessarv asiiis to take gunpowder from the enemy. Whether 
it is opediei t t;: do so is purely a military question. The right i' unquestionable by the laws of war. The 
expediency must be determined by circumsiances. keeping in view the great object of overcoming the reb- 
els, re-fstabiislihig the laws, and restoring peace o the nation. 

'■ It is vain and idle for the Government to carry on tnis war, or hope to maintain its existence against r^- 
bellious forre. without i-mnloying all the rights and povyers of war. As ha- been said, tne right to deprive 
the rebels of their property in slavrs and slave labor is as clear and absolute as thf right to take forage from 
the ft Id, or cotton tri in the warehouse, or powder and arms f om the magazine. To leave the enemy in ihe 
ppsscssion Ol such property as forage ami colion and military stores, and the means of consianily reproduc- 
ing them, would Ije madness It is. tlierefore equal madness to leave them in peaceful aud secure posses- 
sion of slave property, m re i aluable and efficient to them for war llian lorage. cotton, and military stores. 
Such policy v. ouhl be national suicide What to do wiih ihht species of propirty is a qu«'stion that time and 
circumstances will solve, and need not be anticipated fnrther than to repeat that ti'ey cannot be held by the- 
Government as sla' es. It would be useless to ke-p them as prisoners of war; and self-pre-ervation, the 
highest duty of a Goverumen:. or of individuals demands that they should be disposed oi or emplosed iii the 
most effective manin r that •a ill tend most speedily to suppress ihe iiisuirection and restore th authority of 
the Government. If ii shall be found that the men who have been held by ihe rebels as slaves are cnpable • 
of bearing arms and perform' ng efficient military serv ce, it is the right, and may become the duly, of t is 
Government to arm and equip them, and employ their services against the rebels, under proper military re- 
gulation, discipline, and comm nd. 

"But in whatever manner they may be used by the Government, it is plain that^ once liberated by the 
rebellious act ol their masteis, they i-hould never again be restored to bondage. By tie master's treason 
and rebellion he forfeits all right to the labor and service of his slave; and the slave of the rebellious mas- 
ter, by his service o ihe Government, becomes justly eniiiled to freedom and proieeion. 

"The disposition to I e made otthe slaves of rebels, aiier th ■ close of the war, can be safely left to the wis- 
dom a"d pptrioti^m of Congress. The representatives of the people will unqnest onably secure to the loyal 
slaveholders every right lo which ihey are entitl. d under the Coir-titution of the cou try " 

Mr. WICKLIFFE. Will the gentleman favor me with the authority from 
which he ha.s been reading? 

Mr. ELIOT. I read from a report which I find in the papers as having come 
from the city of Washington, and a.s being a report which was originally proposed 
to be subinitted to the country through this House. 

Mr. WICKLIFFE. Whose report, and what report? 

Mr. ELIOr. Simon Cameron's, who has done so much within the past three 
months to raise his natne high among men, as a lover of freedom, as a mainlainer of 
right, as a foe to rebellion, and as one determined to put down treason. 

Now, sir, these statements not only apply lo this first resolution but they will be 
found applicable to all the others, and not only to them, but to every proposition, 
whether for confiscation or otherwise, that can be introduced into the House upon 
this general subject. 

The first branch of the second resolution disclaims the right to interfere by ordi- 
nary legislation with the institutions of the several States. Well, sir, that is a dec- 
laration which we have often made. I do not know that it .is needful to make it 
here. The loyal men throughout the States do not want it. The disloyal men 
ought not to have it. The Republican party said it in 1S56, and said it in ]S60. 
We have announced it in Congress before now. It does not interfere at all with any 
extraordinary legi'slation wliicti the emergencies of the i-ebellion may necessitate. 
Slavery is called an institution. It is more properly a domestic relation, sanctioned 
by local law. It is a relation created by law. It is a relation between black persons 
and wiiite. It seeks to subject the service and labor of the black man to the owner- 
ship of a master. So all our property is held under the sanctions of law, either 
statute or common. Under ils protection, our houses and lands and stocks, our prop- 
erty, corporeal and incorporeal, and rights of action, are all so held. 

We should not attempt to interfere with this properly in the Slates by ordinary 
legislation. It would be against the whole theory of our Constitution and laws to 
do so. Yet who would hesitate to pass a law confiscating the property of rebels 
wherever it may be found — real estate, personal estate, stock, horse.s, lands, and all? 
Who would hesitate, under the Constitution, to advocate and support a law for 
that ? Just so we may pass a law contiscaiing, or in that sense enianripating (for 
the Government cannot buy or sell) that spicies vf property, held by the rebels. It 
does not affect institutions; it ail'ects property. Ii afiects the properly of person.s 
under institutions, the benefit of whose provisions their own treason has forfeited, and 
whose protection they cannot claim. 

Nevertheless, the resolution sets (orth that the war is to be carried on according 'o 
military usage, and according to the laws of war. Is not that so? And is it not 
aboui tjme that Congress said so? I apprehend iher'.' is no elementary writer who 



has denied the proposition that, in time of war, "the safety of the people is the 
highest law." But is it only true in time of war? Is it not equally true in time of 
peace? In all emergencies, when the .safety of the people is endangered, that safety 
must be secured. It rests on the same ground as the law of self-defense. The life 
of the State must be preserved. 

Mr. Speaker, this maxim seems to have been strangely overlooked. Any one who 
had kept an eye on tlie state of things going on around us for some months past, in 
Missouri, in Maryland, in Western Virginia, up and down the Potomac, would be- 
lieve that the maxim was, in some way, strangely forgotten. If we are not success- 
ful in this contest with rebellion, it must be because of our intense magnanimity. 
We have been carrying on this war on very tender principles. We catch a spy 
within our lines, who has come there for the purpose of obtaining information to our 
great injury, and we — we swear him and let him go. I pray you, why was not Mr. 
Winans shot? Did he not violate the laws of war? Was be not doing what he 
could to support the enemy, and to weaken us? Was he not doing all in his power 
to strike down this Government in his own home? It could not be done. It was 
not time. There had not yet been men enough shot in battle. There had not beea 
enough of our brothers and friends destroyed. The time had not come. Gently. 
Festinalente. Make haste slowly. And so Mr. Winans stands now. Loyal? Let 
those say who know. 

Mr. Speaker, some time ago we had a proclamation issued in Western Missouri. 
There was hardly a man whose heart, if it was loyal, did not leap with joy to read 
it. It was a blow struck in the right direction, by the right man, at the right time, 
under the right circumstances, as I respectfully and humbly aver. It was mod.fied. 
I was sorry lor that. I had no doubt^then, I have no doubt now, that it was modi- 
fied for reasons that seemed to be entirely conclusive, and that were entirely conclu- 
sive, in the mind of the Chief Magistrate — the Commander-in-Chief. I am not 
afraid to say that I was sorry for it; and I believe the lime has come, when there, 
in Missouri, the sad effects of that modification have been felt. 1 have rtason Xo- 
think that the proclamation produced a feeling of entire content m that State. 
Nevertheless, 1 am not so well qualified to speak on that matter as are other gentle- 
men in this House. 

Besides the proclamation of General Fremont, we have had, on the other side, one 
from General McDowell, in May last, which Ibrbade the entrance of fugitives with- 
in our lines. Has that been repealed ? I do not know that it has been. I never 
heard of its being repealed. General Halleck's order, if not interpreted as, by the 
kindness of his and our friend from Missouri, [Mr. Blair,] it has been interpreted,, 
would, I undertake to say, convert into enemies men who are wanting to be our 
friends. Here, on the upper Potomac, and on the lower Potomac, and in Kentucky^ 
different policies have prevailed, and different orders have been issued. I do not be- 
lieve that a man exists who could, at tliis moment, tell us what the policy of the 
Government or of the Army is — 1 mean the general policy. Of course there must 
be military discretion. Of course the officer in command must, for the time being,, 
determine what is to be done. It seems to me, however, that the time has arrived 
when some definite policy ought to be adopted. We have had fugitives sent baclt 
by officers, thus converting those who are fighting our battles into slave-catchers. . 

Now, what we want to ascertain is, what is the highest safety, and what does that 
demand ? for that is the law. 1 think, from the tenor of part of the President's mes- 
sage, that he expects us to legislate on this question ; for he says, referring to the 
action that has been had before one Congress, that if laws are pass,ed on the same 
general subject they should receive his candid consideration. He says, in this sanr\6 
connection, that whatever is necessary to put down this rebellion should be pursued. 
The Union, he says, must be preserved, and all dispa^able means must be resorted to,. 
I apprehend that it is expected by the Chief Magistrate that Congress will indicate 
its judgment as to the line of policy to be pursued. Sir, it is the greatest folly for us 
to refuse to deliberate, to refuse to discuss, to refuse to decide questions of this kind. 
General Halleck, in the order which was read here yesterday, says, good lawyer as 
I he is, that he is waiting for the action of Congress, " Military officers do not make 
ilaws, but they should obey and execute them when made." It is for the military tp 
execute the law. It is for Congress to say what is to be done. I think General 
Halleck underrates entirely his own power in the field. I am inclined to thinjc he 
could not hesitate for a moment if he had allowed the lawyer, as well £|S tlie general, 
to determine the question upon which he was acting, But if be wants t^e d(rec0oij 



of Congress let him have it. Tlie passage of this resolution will indicate to him 
■what we believe may fairly and rightfully be done by the generals who are over our 
armies in the field. 

I do not dtsire to initiate anything that is unreasonable or extreme. Indeed, Mr. 
Speaker, talking about extreme measures, when we look at the conduct of the re- 
bels during the eight months past, wiien we see what has been done by them unre- 
buked upon the field of battle, I should like to ask if it is easy to imagine any 
measures that we could recommend that would not be mild, gentle, and lamb-like 
in contrast with the example that treason has set to loyalty ? Why, sir, what upon 
earth that is cruel and inhuman have they not done? What have they left undone? 
"When in the history of warfare, civil or savage, ancient or modern, have acts been 
done the like of which we have witnessed on our battle-fields? Ambulances fired 
into; hospitals on the field where the wounded have been placed for safety and for 
protection — hospitals on the field, that ought to be sacred — shot into, with purpose 
and by intent, not by accident, but by design. Wounded men, laid upon the field 
where their surgeons could take care of them, shot and slaughtered there. If possi- 
ble, worse than that, the stars and stripes, emblems of loyalty, of Union and of good 
government, made to fly and to float over rebel traitorous companies of men in the 
face and eyes of Union soldiers, in order that Union men might be drawn from their 
friends, entrapped, and meanly slaughtered by men everyone of whom had forfeited 
his life under the laws of the land. Are such things to be justified because it is war ? 
So ii. is war — civil war, the worst of all kinds of war ; and yet there are rules that 
civilized nations recognize even in a state of war. Such has been the conduct of 
the traitors in arms. 

I come now to the third resolution of the series,which declares the right, the mili- 
tary right, of emancipation. In the language of the resolution, we declare that, 
"in our judgment, the President of the United States, as Commander-in-Chief, and 
the oflacers in command under him, have the right to emancipate all persons held as 
slaves by rebels m any military district m a state of insuirection against the Nation- 
al Government." 

The second branch of the resolution declares the expediency of exercising that 
right. First, as to the right. Has anybody a doubt of it? I hardly feel justified 
in occupying the time of the House in discussing a question about which really no 
one does or can properly, in my judgment, entertain a doubt. The right itself is 
.sustained by abundant authority; but if we had not the authority of authors upon 
the subject, the right would stand upon the reason of the case. If Wheaton had 
Bot said a word, if Vattel had been silent, if the voice of our own " old man elo- 
quent" had not twenty years ago, foreseeing the events that have transpired, an- 
nounced the doctrine from this Hall, the time has come when we ought to make the 
authority. 

Slavery is the cause of this rebellion ; slavery is the power and strength of our 
enemies^ have we not the right to remove the cause of the rebellion? Have not 
we the right to weaken the power of our enemies? Slavery lies at the root of this 
treason : can we not eradicate the treason ? 

Now, sir, no negative answer can be given to these questions unless the premises 
are denied. But is any gentleman prepared to say that slavery is not the cause of 
ihe rebellion, and that it does not give power to our enemies? Let me for a moment 
refer the House to the language of Vattel upon this point, written more than a cen- 
tury ago. He says : 

" Since llie object of a just war is to repress injustice and violfnce, and forciljly to compel him who is 
deal to the voi e of justice, we have a right to put in practice, as^ainst the enfniy. every measur ■ ihat is 
necessary in order to waken him and disable lura from resisting us and supponing his injustice; and we 
may oho se such methods as are the most elficaeious ajid l)e>t calculat-il to attain the eiid in view, pro- 
vided iliey be not of an od ous kind, nor unjustiliable in tliemselves, and proliibiied by the law ol na ure." 

And, again, the same writer says: 

"We h ve a ri-ht lo deprive our enemy of his possessions, of everything^ which may augment his 
ctrenglh, and ennble him t ' make war This every one endeavors to accomplish m tlie maiiuer most 
isuilabi to hnn. V\ lienever we have an opp' rtunity v\ e seize on the enemy's proper y. aud convert it lo 
our own use; anH thus Sbesnie- diminishin.r the e emv's power, vr • auffment our own, and obtain a' least 
a paitial ind mniheation or ecjuivaleni, either lor what constitutes the .-ul'jecl of the war, or for the ex- 
penses and losses iniurred in its prosecution, in a word, we do ourselves ju-liee." 

But Mr. Adams more than once declared the law in his speeches in Congress. In 

liis celebrated debate with Mr. Ingersoll, in the Twenty-Seventh Congress, he said : 

"This power ill Congress has, per'iaps, never been called into exercise under the present Co stitution 
of the United Stales. But when the laws .of war are in force, what, I ask, is one of tnose laws? It is 



1*1 >*ii« n « 



,his : that when a country is Invuded and t- .hostile armies are ^^ 

fiw?ofw'^r ^?d''n^t^r"ri^ipar:,:L;t^^:!r'V7::^°^^e/;^ by Z^ tary con>.auders.uuUer 

inrtructio.s, of course, irom their respective Gover, nu-nts 

In the course of the same speech, Mr, Adams continues, as follows : 

. , . . , , J „, ,.e^ tr. shnw ihat the pri-teiJ'*io 's of Reinlemen to the sanctity of thfir 

"1 might lurnish a ^V'ousaurt P _^^ '^^ "/j^^^ f^ V^^„ f;U of actual War, whether servile, c.vi , or -p;- 
mimi ipal .nstuul.ons, under a K la.^ of ac^^^^^^ such cases take preced.-n e. I lay th,a • 

ei-u, IS wholly ui.foundea , »'«! '''^1 the aj'» «• J^ auihority takes, for the lime, the place of all niunici- 
down as the law of >'«"o..^ I say tha ^!;« ;'^''''^ ^\, that, u uer ,hal Mate of ih.'ngs, so far from .ts heinff 
puUnst,tut.ons r.du.^veoan^^^^ exclusive manajjeu-ent of the suh e< t, noto'lylhe 

'p"esidem Lnh'^rulntrdlTa^rbuUb/^o^^ the Ar.ny has power to order the universal emanc.pa- 

tion of the slaves." j,, ,#♦**•**** 

u T ' *,i^ , hf. n,.,wpTP,i • i-t me be told let my constituents be tld, let the people of my Slate be 

» Let niy posit.or be « 'swere'i - ^;' J"^,^^ '° " '^^^_ll,a, ,,,ey ^j,. i,ound ly the Constitution to a lonf? 
told-a Slate whose «°'' '"'«, »^'^,^ "f ;''^^°° smfsai^d a deadly southern cliuie, for .he suppression of a 
and toilsome march, under bun.g f" ™"4"' ' .'^^'"lo rot upon tiie lands of Carolin ; 'o lea e their 
servile war; that they are ''«" '^ 1° '^^^-^^^^^^^^^ ,,o^,„a to pour out lUeir treasure, 

widows and liieir children orphas, that '''ff,y^''"J^''7„ "',„„._„ „ g^-rvik combine' with a civil or 
while their -'^'l-^^-^Z:^ ^°^'^^X^]^^ l^T.^'oi^lZL's:... where such war.is 
foreign war, -.v.u yet '^at 'ler^J^'f == "? fgi (1,% be proved-1 am open to c^ nviction ; bm nil that convic- 
li^frclmetT'^u^if fort"', notT.ra dlcfa^e iaeen^ b'ut as a settled 'maxim of the laws of nations, that tn 
such a case ihe military super.-edes the civil power. ' 

Why, sir, from the beginning of this rebellion we have heard it stated by the 
traitors that thev have a power peculiar to them m their institution of slavery. It 
wasTtaled here m Congress. We have heard it from Mr Ke.tt and Mr. Stephens 
hSe and from Mr. KeiU and Mr. Stephens there. All their orators statesmen, and 
noliticians are declaring how they stand upon this precise power. I have here an 
eTlrac" Lm one of the%outhernVapers, in which it undertakes »« §« - ° J.^f- 
ment to show that the South can sustain an army of sue hundred thousand in the 
field, o? one-tenth of their white population, without affecting their industrial pur- 
suits at home: , .„ ... 

- Let the slaves work; we will fisht. We will fight and they will produce. We will consume, we will 
protect and thiy at honi'e will give us the means of carrying on this war. ' 

Is It not so'? Who are fighting our battles? Our merchants, lawyers, mechanics; 
our men of business; our young men of all parties, and of every avocation ot life 
are fighting our battles. What for? To put down this rebellion; to subdue this 

""'why sir, when the President called for aid ; nay, before he cailed-upon the day 
the attack was made upon Fort Sumter, who was there in the and that dreamed of 
he intense loyalty which lived in the hearts of our people ? We had been living 
or nearW fifty years in peace; we had been divided among ditierent parties ; we had 
been carrV^gon the various pursuits of life; we had success and prosperity; ciUes 
had Torun" from the ground in a day; no nation had prospered so much as we. 
Who knew of o^r loyalty? We had hated each other as Hiticians; who knew 
l^w we would love each other as loyal men? Here in this House, a Democra of 
Vhe B^ecLnridge school said to me last year that he would pledge himself that there 
would be from New York no less than an army ot fa ty thousand men, who would 
rmefromreir homes to fight against the North. Yet what an echo that Sumter 
'un c ea"Jd ' Why, sir, it%ou.!ded through the North, and the East and the 
West and their startled population jumped to arms. It sounded through our val- 
S^^^andovrou plains and the deserted plow was left in the halt turned lurrow 
bv the yeomanry of the land. U sounded through our towns, villages, and c t e. 
and the^nechanic left his shop, the merchant forgot his unbalanced edger and he 
Lwyer left his cases untried, and, with his clients, hastened to the field. It ^om.ded 
air^r the aisles of our churches, and pastors and people, their prayers and their pat- 
riotism work n^ to one end, marched to the war. Mo.e than six hundred thousand 
Tenure now in arms. The'y have left their homes, and on the land and on the sea 
are upMd.ng the flag, and sustaining the power and defending the honor of the 

^Mr'Tneaker the relation of master and slave within the several States in No- 
vemb;r 1860 wis safe from congressional interference. The pres.denl.a campaign 
had iust closer Slavery was not to be extended. To that extent the Republican 
nartv had been Pledcred. But the mad determination to rule or to ruin was earned 
Kffect South Carolina fanaticism hurried the South into thi. rebellion. And 



now the whole industrial interests of this generation have been overturned. For- 
tunes and business, houses, lands, and homes and the lives of the best men in the 
land have been thrown into this war. And yet, when we know that slavery has 
caused it, and when it is plain that in no way can their strength be overcome and 
our peace secured so quickly and effectively as by striking down this power they use 
against us, we are found to hesitate, and timidly to halt and to consider ! 

Sir, if we have a right to argue of the ways of Providence, we might say, without 
irreverence, that the hand of God points to us our duty. Our President may act, our 
Commander-in-chief, within his province, and the officers under him in command 
may act, and I believe are called upon to act, by every consideration of humanity 
and of patriotism. And, coming from the Commonwealth I represent, in part — ^a 
State which has performed no small service in this war — I call upon you to aid me 
in giving such expression of the judgment of this Hjuse as shall command re-pect. 
J am not here to boast of the bravery or the patriotism of Massachusetts soldiers. 
From the port where I have my home more than fifteen hundred men have been 
shipped for our Navy. From all our seaboard and island towns their skillful and 
hardy sons are found as masters upon the quarter-deck, and as seamen on board our 
ships. From our whole Slate her young men are with the Army. More than 
twenty thousand of her sons are in the field ready and willing, as you know, to shtd. 
their hearts' blood in their country's cause. 

In their name and in their behalf I pray you to call upon the military arm to strike 
that blow more eflective for peace and for freedom than armies or victories can be, 
and convert the slave, which is the power of the enemy, into the free man who shall 
be their dread. So shall the sword intervene for freedom ! If i have read the his- 
tory of xVJassachusetts aright that is the intervention her fathers contemplated! In 
the early days of English freedom, when constitutional liberty was beginning to find 
a home in the hearts of Englishmen, after Hampden and Eliot and their compatriots 
had been working in the cause, in the days of Charles, a young man, in an album 
which he found in a public library, wrote these two Imes: 

" Hopc inanus, iuimica tyraiiiiis, 
Ense petit placidam sub libertaie quietem " 

"This hand, hostile to tyrants, 
Seeks with the sword quiet rest in freedom." 

They called down upon his head the indignant rebuke of an offended king ; but 
the monarch has died, and Sydney has passed away, yet while Massachusetts shall 
live the lines he then inscribed shall be remembered. In after years, when our fore- 
fathers were seeking to find a motto for their State coat of arms, they could select 
none that seemed to them as pertinent as the last of those two lines; and there it 
stands — 

'• Ense petit placidam sub libertate quietem." 

And now she asks, through the humblest of her sons, that the military power of our 
chief, hostile always to rebellion, shall thus, with the sword, find quiet rest in free- 
dom. 



k. Polkinhoj-n, Printer, Washington. 



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